Now that winter is upon us, cleaning snow can be a daunting task for most residence. Especially in more recent winters our region has received it’s fair share of snowfall and storms. It’s important to be prepared with the right tools to weather any storm safely.

Understanding different types of snow.

First, it’s important to note that there are different types of snow:

(a) There’s the light, fluffy snow on your driveway

(b)There is slush which is very heavy and sticky.

(c.) And then there’s the dreaded “Snow Plow Pile” , or as we like to call it the “SPP” . It’s the heavy snow pile at the end of your driveway.

For most people, the “Snow Plow Pile” (SPP) is the most challenging snow to manage because it’s very dense. In most major snowfalls it needs to be cleared before you can even drive in and out of your driveway. There are snowblowers that can help you tackle the SPP.

A recent survey conducted by Husqvarna Group reported that: “56 per cent of Canadians have either hurt their back or felt sore after shoveling snow”. There are serious risks to injury if we’re not prepared to tackle the snow with proper tools. Especially for people with health conditions. One of the leading causes of injury is trying to lift the snow with a shovel and throw it. You can minimize risk to injuries by being equipped with the right tools that will do the the throwing for you without exposing you injury. There are different types of snowblower specifically designed to help you do just that.

With the right model, you can easily manage the “ Snow Plow Pile” ( SPP) at the end of the driveway . Dual stage snow blowers can handle this very well because they are designed with serrated metal augers, heavy duty impeller systems and powerful engines. Also, most modern snowblower now come with electric starters, power steering and even hand warmers to help you tackle any winter condition.

OTTAWA — Friday isn’t expected to be Ottawa’s coldest December day — but it could be one of the stormiest.

A snowfall warning for Ottawa was updated to a winter storm warning by Environment Canada Thursday afternoon. “We haven’t seen a storm like this for a while, so some people may have forgotten what a real storm looks like,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Peter Kimbell. He said Ottawa hasn’t experienced a similar storm in over a year. Twenty to 25 centimetres of snow is expected to fall between early morning and late Friday evening, with winds of 40-60 km/h that may cause blowing snow and low to no visibility. A high of 0 and low of -3 are expected. “Morning’s rush hour will be extremely treacherous,” said Kimbell, urging people to avoid driving if possible. “It will be very messy with about 10-15 cm already fallen by the time people wake up.” The heaviest snow will fall overnight, but snow will continue through the day and may be mixed with rain late Friday afternoon as temperatures creep above zero, said Kimbell,Read more...

OTTAWA — Winter overnight parking regulations take effect Thursday and remain in effect throughout the City of Ottawa until April 1.Parking is prohibited on city streets between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. any time seven centimetres or more of snow is forecast by Environment Canada. The parking ban includes days when the snow is forecast to fall within a range that might exceed seven centimetres, such as five to 10 centimeters. Read more...

Ottawa Smart Shoppers Paper features an article on the front page of Dec 01,2011 about selecting the right Snow-blower. The article provides valuable information for Ottawa snowblower buyers based on insight from Yarmand Tech who are Ottawa's Local Expert on Snow blowers as well as Founder of the informational source: www.OttawaSnowblowers.com. View PDF version of the article here.